Greg Hands MP has welcomed the news that Chelsea and Fulham will benefit from the NHS and the government’s plan to help recover urgent and emergency care services, reduce waiting times, and improve patient experience.
Frontline capacity will be boosted further thanks to 800 new ambulances, including 100 specialist mental health vehicles, and 5,000 more sustainable hospital beds backed by a £1 billion dedicated fund.
The two-year delivery plan for recovery comes amid record demand for NHS services, with the latest data showing more A&E attendances than ever before, growing numbers of the most serious ambulance call outs, and millions of NHS 111 calls a month over winter.
Urgent care provided in the community will be expanded to ensure people can get the care they need at home, without the need for a hospital admission.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:
“Cutting NHS waiting times is one of my five priorities. Urgent and emergency care is facing serious challenges but we have an ambitious and credible plan to fix it.
“It will take time to get there but our plan will cut long waiting times by increasing the number of ambulances, staff and beds – stopping the bottlenecks outside A&E and making sure patients are seen and discharged quickly.
“If we meet this ambition, it will represent one of the fastest and longest sustained improvements in emergency waiting times in NHS history. I am determined to deliver this so that families across the country can get the care they need.”
The NHS, local government and the social care sector will continue together to improve access to social care and ensure patients can be discharged safely and on time.
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:
“Every day of every week, tens of thousands of people receive safe, high quality urgent and emergency care. However, with the NHS under unprecedented pressure from high covid and flu cases and the backlog from the pandemic, too many people are waiting too long in A&E or for ambulances.
“Today’s plan, which is backed by record investment, aims to rapidly cut waiting times, helping to deliver on one of the government’s five priorities, while giving patients the confidence that health and social care services will be there for them when they need them.
“Building on the extensive preparations the NHS put in place ahead of this winter, the plan will boost the number of hospital beds, get more ambulances on the road, grow and support the workforce, ensure people are able to leave hospital in a timely way when ready, and expand new services in the community so people can be treated closer to home.”
ENDS
